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Add a cluster#

Lens Desktop automatically detects clusters from the specified kubeconfig files. You can find available clusters in Navigator.

In some cases, Lens Desktop might not detect or fail to connect to a kubeconfig. Make sure that your cluster tools, such as kubectl, aws cli, eksctl, gcloud, are up-to-date. After updating the tools, re-generate the kubeconfigs that no longer work with Lens Desktop. For example, configure kubectl, so that you can connect to an Amazon EKS cluster:

aws eks update-kubeconfig --region <region name> --name <cluster name>

As another example, Kubernetes clusters older than version 1.24 may require updating the apiVersion field from client.authentication.k8s.io/v1alpha1 to client.authentication.k8s.io/v1beta1. Please review your kubeconfig and adjust the configurations accordingly.

Specify kubeconfig files#

To specify kubeconfig files, click Add Kubeconfigs in Kubernetes Clusters > Local Kubeconfigs in Navigator.

To see your current cluster configuration:

  1. Open Terminal

  2. In the Terminal tab, execute the following command:

    kubectl config view --minify --raw
    If successfull, the cluster configuration is displayed in Terminal.

When connecting to a cluster, make sure you have a valid and working kubeconfig for the cluster.

Manage Kubeconfigs#

Right-click on Local Kubeconfigs and select Manage Kubeconfigs to open Preferences > Kubernetes. In this menu you can configure kubectl, specify kubeconfig files, and manage Helm chart repositories.

Connect to a cluster#

To connect to a local or a team space cluster, right-click on the cluster and select Connect.